


Bath time

by Selestiles



Series: The Arcana Headcanons [11]
Category: The Arcana (Visual Novel)
Genre: Other, bathing related trauma, comforting LIs, self concious reader
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-02
Updated: 2020-08-02
Packaged: 2021-03-05 21:54:24
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,249
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25662430
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Selestiles/pseuds/Selestiles
Summary: Headcanon request on Tumblr: "Could I request the LIs with an MC who's rather adverse to bathing due to related trauma, and will often go longer than they should between baths even though they get horribly self conscious about not being clean, so they need some gentle guidance and encouragement?"
Relationships: Asra (The Arcana)/Reader, Julian Devorak/Reader, Lucio (The Arcana)/Reader, Muriel (The Arcana)/Reader, Nadia (The Arcana)/Reader, Portia Devorak/Reader
Series: The Arcana Headcanons [11]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1834537
Comments: 2
Kudos: 92





	Bath time

##  **Asra**

★ He has kinda mixed feelings about it. Mainly because his magic is heavily focused on water. That means that he can easily help you, but at the same time it means that he can’t share his love of water with you like he wants to. 

★ Teaches you several spells to keep yourself clean, in the beginning rag baths were pretty common. 

★ Asra never pushes your limits, but always encourages you to try getting used to water little by little. At first with small, easy spells performed by him or you, then by getting you to actually come in contact with water in increasing amounts. 

★ He makes sure to let you know that he’s proud of you, and that there’s no judgement from him if you need to step away or if you don’t feel up to it on certain days. 

★ If you have gone a few days without bathing he won’t point it out outright, he’ll probably suggest an outdoor activity that will get you both messy and then ask if you want help getting clean or if you want to try doing it yourself, he’s completely fine with either. 

##  **Nadia**

♠︎ Will notice soon enough, she really enjoys baths as a way to relax and has noticed you have refused her invitations to use the palace bathtubs. 

♠︎ She asks you about it directly, and when you tell her about your fear she tells you that she’d be glad to help you overcome it. 

♠︎ Nadia sends for a chair to be brought to her personal baths, and sets it right next to the water. You sit there while she bathes, making casual conversation and occasionally dipping your fingers in the water. You work your way up until you can dip your feet in. With time, Nadia hopes you’ll be able to get in, she’ll hold you the whole time of course. 

♠︎ Can get a little embarrassing about it tbh, reassures you constantly that you have nothing to fear when she’s there with you and constantly encourages you to go a little farther every time. It’s endearing, but can get to be a little much.

♠︎ After her bath she always makes sure you’re alright, then dips a soft cloth into the water and uses it to clean you carefully. At the end she plants a soft kiss on your shoulder and smiles at you proudly. 

##  **Julian**

♦︎ He really doesn’t want to push you, but he’s a doctor. He knows about all kinds of nasty infections or illnesses that you can catch if you don’t clean yourself regularly. And, well, you know how he gets. 

♦︎ He keeps track of when was the last time you bathed, and tries to make it the quickest and least embarrassing he can possibly make it. 

♦︎ On one hand because he knows you hate it, so he stays with you and encourages you the whole time, telling you how great you’re doing and that it’ll be over before you even know it. 

♦︎ On the other hand because Julian is kinda.. _helping you bathe_. And if he lets himself think too much about it then things will probably get really awkward really fast. Mostly he helps wash you down almost clinically with a bowl and a sponge while you stand in a shallow tub of water, averting his eyes as much as possible. 

♦︎ When you’re done he immediately asks if you want a snack and shoots off like his ass is on fire toward the kitchen while you dress. He takes a few minutes, but when he comes back into the room with some sliced fruit his ears are still red. 

##  **Muriel**

♣︎ He bathes in the river mostly, so he notices when after a day of being out in the humid heat of the forest he goes into the river nonchalantly to wash away the sweat and you freeze at a safe distance, eyeing the water nervously. 

♣︎ He doesn’t think much of it, but when he goes near you you step quickly away “I must stink.” He frowns “You could have gone into the river earlier.” He realizes what’s going on when your face twists in discomfort. 

♣︎ Alright then, he goes into the hut and rips a piece of clean fabric from a length he had bought recently, he normally uses it to make pouches for spells and ties for his tools but it will do. He hands it to you and goes to fetch a bucketful of water from the river. 

♣︎ Then he _leaves_ , he’s _not_ helping you bathe, nope. That’s too much, just thinking about it does things to his blood pressure. 

♣︎ He will help you with your hair though, if you let him, gently and almost reverently massaging your scalp, placing a careful hand on your forehead when he rinses it off to shield your eyes from any soap suds. He brushes a finger against your temple when he’s done and gestures something that you think means that he wouldn’t mind helping you again. 

##  **Portia**

♥︎ She will try to make it as fun for you as possible. She knows that you may need some time, and she’s more than happy to distract you from your fear while you get clean. Hopefully you’ll be able to associate water with fun things eventually. 

♥︎ She won’t mind if you go a few days without bathing. She won’t tease you about it, but if you get insecure she’ll say something along the lines of “But I love it when you stink” just to make you laugh. 

♥︎ Asra has been teaching her a bit of magic actually, just basic stuff. But she thinks that one specific spell meant for gardening can probably help in other ways. 

♥︎ She fills a wooden tub with water and hauls it outside with your -hesitant- help, she assures you that you won’t need to get in. Then, after a bit of quiet, furrow-browed concentration, she casts a solid irrigation spell. The water funnels vertically out of the tub and breaks at the top into a steady-flowing sprinkle, almost like focused rain. 

♥︎ You laugh and chase each other under the spray in Portia’s back garden while clothed in nothing but your underwear. Then you help each other lather up with soap and rinse under the last of the spray. 

##  **Lucio**

▲ “Why would you be scared? It’s only water.” Is confused when you get upset and glare at him incredulously. Okay, yeah, so he still gets uneasy when he has to turn on the fireplace, and he still jumps occasionally when the wood crackles and sparks. He sees your point. Sorry. 

▲ He honestly doesn’t know how to help you, but he does want to help. He’ll ask if there’s anything he can do, and then go right over the top with it 

▲ Like, what? You want company? He’ll cancel all his appointments for the afternoon and be right there himself. You want a rag to scrub yourself without getting in the bath? No rags for you, just the finest silky cloths, embroidered and dyed. 

▲ He spritzes you with a carefully picked scent at the end and buries his face into your neck for a quick sniff and a light smooch. “There, nice and clean” 

▲ He doesn’t push you to actually bathe, but he constantly tries coming up with ways to keep clean without using an actual bath, he gets increasingly outlandish. He’s only trying to help. 

**Author's Note:**

> You can find me on Tumblr as sandwichfox


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